Rage of the past
by BioChimp
Summary: A sequel to A last minute call. After taking down Phenotrans, Chuck returns home to Katey & Stacey. Stacey, wanting to get close to him, asks about Vegas. And so Chuck reveals how a man's passion to save someone he loves can lead to an unrivalled rage.
1. Chapter 1

**SPOILERS ABOUND**

A sequel to A last minute call

Premise- Chuck and Frank stop Phenotrans and Chuck goes back home to Stacey and Katey.

Dead Rising 2 belongs to Capcom, Blue Castle Games and Keiji Inafune.

Stacey was standing in the kitchen of her new house making herself some lunch. She had already dropped Katey of for school a few hours ago and had some time to herself. She sat down on her couch with her tuna sandwich and started watching TV. Just as she was getting comfortable however she heard her mail box go. Stacey sighed, got up and checked her mail. Looking down she saw it was some bills and the newspaper. She threw the bills on her coffee table and sat down to read the paper, quickly flicking the TV over to the news before she started reading however. The headline on the paper made her drop her sandwich on the floor.

**PHENOTRANS FUELING ZOMBIE OUTBREAKS**-Pages 3 & 4.

Stacey's mouth hung open in shock. She quickly scrambled to turn the page and surely enough there it was

**PHENOTRANS CEO ARRESTED FOR HOLDING OUT ZOMBIE CURE**

Disbelief rang through her mind. Just then a newsreader on the TV said "And now onto our top story. Phenotrans, known worldwide as the heroic company who combat the threat of the zombie apocalypse with their miracle drug zombrex have now been revealed to have been the original causes of the Las Vegas and Fortune city outbreaks." Stacey couldn't believe what she was hearing. The newsreader continued "While the company had said previously in many statements regarding zombrex that they no longer experimented with Queens, the wasp like insects responsible for turning people into zombies, it has now been revealed that not only had they continued to use Queens, but even released them onto unsuspecting cities in order to cause an outbreak. Join us at eleven where we will have a world exclusive with the man who uncovered this scandal, the man who also broke the story of the very first zombie outbreak, Frank West. For now, I'm Jack Ryan."

Speechless. Stacey was speechless. Everything she had been working towards for months now was now done. Lawsuit after lawsuit made by Phenotrans because of her claims against them. Claims with no proof however, at least not enough proof for anyone to care. Just like Chuck said, she thought, they make the zombrex; no one would care what they did.

A chill was then sent down her spine. In fact a chill would be an understatement; a lightning strike was sent though her entire body. Chuck. Where is Chuck? That reporter only said Frank West. Chuck was there too. "Oh my God" she said to herself "what if he... he can't be... he promised" she would have screamed and shouted but her mouth would only allow a whisper. "He promised me" she curled he knees up and buried her face in them as tears ran down her face. "He said he would for Katey's sake, FOR MINE!" Now she could scream, but she didn't want to. She just wanted to cry, she hated herself for crying. She always had to be strong for the CURE members whenever they broke down or her sister when she had to use zombrex, but this was what pushed her over the edge. She only ever cried when her sister died, Chuck's last phone call, and now. "This isn't fair" she sniffed between sobs "The only time I can rely on someone else and he has to fucking die!"

*KNOCK KNOCK*

She ignored the door.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

She kept ignoring the door.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

That was it. She couldn't stand the incessant knocking. She quickly wiped away her tears but her eyes were still red. She stormed over to the door, swung it open violently and shouted in a fit of rage

"WHAT DO YOU FUCKING WANT!"

Silence.

"Um, Hey Stacey" a man murmured slightly intimidated "It still sounds weird when you swear."

"Ch-Chuck" she whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck stood there in the doorway in his classic yellow jacket with flowers in his hand.

"Surprise" he said slowly with a hint of happiness in his voice. Stacey stood there in shock, her mind refusing to believe what she was seeing but at the same time begged and prayed it was true. "Um Stacey," he said "Can I come in?"

"Uh, yes of course Chuck." She said slowly, her mind still taking a minute to realise he was back. "Do you want some coffee or something?"

"No thanks Stacey I think I've had enough coffee creamers in the last couple of months to put me off coffee forever" he laughed.

"Oh, okay" she sighed.

"Stacey I'm joking, I'd love one."

"Okay" she almost whispered. She walked over to the coffee machine and started making some coffee. She wasn't focusing on what she was doing and she didn't realise she had put at least ten spoonfuls of sugar into the cup.

"Um Stacey, isn't that a bit too much sugar?" he joked.

"Oh, uh yeah I guess" her voice crackled as she spoke.

"Stacey maybe you should sit down and I'll make the coffee" he spoke softly.

"Okay." Chuck could tell she was taking this hard.

"Are you okay Stacey? You're just kinda saying 'okay' over and over again."

"Oh, uh sorry" she said in the same depressed tone she had been talking in for the last couple of minutes.

Chuck sighed and said "No Stacey I-" he sighed again out of frustration. He sat down opposite from Stacey and said "Look Stacey I know this is messed up, me just coming home after this whole Phentrans thing-"

"You think?" she interrupted him.

"Yeah, look I know but-"

"Chuck I thought you were dead" she spoke more confidently now but still not very loud "I saw the news and it just said Frank West, it never said you. Why?"

"I- I didn't want the public's attention again. I couldn't have them hunting us down for a story; I couldn't put Katey through that again. I saw what happened after Fortune City, the press hunting you and Katey down for a story, especially after what you said against Phenotrans"

"And the lawsuits" she added

"And... the lawsuits yes," he then took his hands into hers and his very touch made her whimper as her eyes shot up towards his. "Stacey I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for Katey, looking after her when you could have just left."

"I could never do that. I love Katey" she said. And I love you she thought.

Chuck laughed a little and said "She's amazing isn't she."

God dammit you just don't get it Chuck she thought "Yeah, she is" she said. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Stacey worked up the courage to say "Chuck. You..."

"Yes" he said quickly trying to break the silence.

"I- you know what never mind."

"No, go on" he desperately wanted to break the silence.

"Well I don't want to overstep my boundaries but, you never talked about Vegas," Chuck looked down. The silence became even more uncomfortable. "I'm sorry Chuck I shouldn't have asked"

"No no" he said swiftly "It's just that, well I've never really talked about Vegas. I just say my wife died and we got out."

Stacey pondered for a few seconds before asking "What was she like... your wife?"

Another moment of silence.

"She was... amazing. She was beautiful and she always, always spoke her mind" Chuck laughed "kind of like you." Stacey chuckled at that last part. Chuck continued "She was a nurse at one of the hospitals, Mercy hospital. That Goddamn hospital" he said those last words with disdain.

"... Look if you don't wanna talk about it that's fine"

"No, no I... I really need to get it off my chest. I've never told anyone this before, I, I need to tell someone."

Stacey smiled at that. She felt that maybe she meant something special to him as he's telling her-and only her-about how his life was destroyed. "What was her name?" she asked.

"Sarah. Sarah Elwood, she died Sarah Greene".

* * *

><p>"Hey Chuck" Sarah said<p>

"Hey baby" Chuck replied.

"Listen baby I'm gonna be a little late tonight" she frowned.

"What why?" Chuck questioned.

"There's a ton of patients coming in" she answered.

"But you're not on call tonight" he complained.

"Yeah I know honey but patients are just flooding in."

"But what about Katey, we were supposed to be going the carnival tonight."

"I know baby and I'm sorry but everybody's here, even all the doctors and nurses who had a day off today" she explained.

"Really?" he said in disbelief "Wow. What happened was there a traffic pile up or something?" he asked.

"Don't know" she answered "all I know is the hospital's flooded with patients so I might not get in 'til the early hours of the morning".

"Dammit" he swore.

"Just take Katey to the carnival without me; I don't want either of you to miss out."

"Yeah okay, she's been looking forward to this all week" he said

"So have you, I saw how you reacted when we saw the carnival was in town" Sarah joked.

"What, um, I was just acting like that for Katey" he lied.

"Yeah right" she laughed "you can act all tough Mr Greene with all your Motor cross championships but inside I know you're just a big kid aren't you?"

"Hey you are too" he chuckled.

"Yeah but at least I admit it" she smiled. Chuck laughed and she said "Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow morning baby okay?"

"Okay. I Love you."

"I love you too" she replied.

Just then Katey burst out of her room and ran towards her father. "Is that Mommy?" Katey yelled as she ran and hugged Chuck round the waist as she could only reach that high.

"Yeah kiddo" he answered.

"Can I talk to her? Pleeeaaassseee?" Katey pleaded over dramatically.

Sarah laughed and said "I can hear her through the phone, put her on."

Chuck gave the phone to Katey and she said to her mother "Hiiiiii Mommy."

"Hi Katey" Sarah laughed "listen I've got some bad news."

Katey pouted and asked "What's wrong Mommy?"

"I have to stay late at the hospital again, I can't make it to the carnival" she sighed.

"But Mommyyyyyy!" Katey shouted "This is the last day they're in town!"

"I know kiddo and I'm sorry, but there's no way I can get out of work tonight" she sighed "maybe next time ok? You two go without me I'll see you in the morning. Bye Katey, love you."

"I Love you too Mommy" said Katey disappointed.

Chuck bent down and hugged Katey "Its okay kiddo. C'mon get ready we'll leave soon okay"

"Okay" Katey said slowly.

* * *

><p>"That was... probably the last time Katey really acted like a kid. She never used to be so timid or shy, even when she was just four. She'd always be really energetic and happy. I mean now she's kind of happy but after that night she never acted the same."<p>

Stacey sat there across from Chuck as they sipped their coffee listening to every word of his story. She was so wrapped up in his story that she lost track of time.

"Shoot, it's nearly 3:30 I need to go pick up Katey from school" Chuck's face lit up as he heard his daughter's name. Stacey saw this and stuttered before asking "Do yo- Do you wanna pick her up with me?"

Chuck looked ecstatic but instead remained calm and looked down back at his coffee as he said "I think I'd rather wait here for her." Stacey looked confused. "It'd be a great surprise wouldn't it?" he chuckled.

Stacey smiled as she grabbed her keys and coat and headed towards the door. Before she left however she turned back and put her hand on Chuck's shoulder and said "Um, Chuck..." he murmured in response and looked over as she said "It- it's good to have you back. I- Katey and I missed you." He put his hand on hers still resting on his shoulder as she fought the urge to hug him. She turned and headed towards the door leaving Chuck alone in the house, although she didn't want to knowing what he's been through, she knew what he was planning would be special for Katey. That man always puts Katey before himself, she thought, he puts everyone before himself. And with that she left to pick up Katey.


	3. Chapter 3

Chuck waited in the kitchen of Stacey's house for her to come back with Katey. He tried to keep stern and stoic but really he was like a kid on Christmas Eve as he so eagerly awaited his baby girl to come back.

After what felt like forever Chuck heard the door open and the keys jingle.

* * *

><p>"Alright Katey now before we go in I'd like you to close your eyes okay" Stacey said optimistically.<p>

"Why?" Katey asked.

"Because there's a surprise waiting for you inside."

"Okay" Katey closed her eyes and Stacey covered them with her hands for good measure. She opened the door and walked with Katey into the kitchen. Chuck turned and saw his daughter for the first time in months. Tears were brought to his eyes as a flood of emotion soared through his body.

"Okay Katey you can open your eyes now" Stacey said as she lifted her hands away from Katey's eyes. Katey opened her eyes to see her father standing there crying.

"DAAAAADDDDDDDDYYYYYYY" Katey shouted as she ran into her father's arms as he knelt down to hug her. Of course Katey wasn't going to have a subtle reaction like Chuck or Stacey; she was only six years old after all. They hugged each other so tight they nearly squeezed the oxygen out of each other's lungs. "Daddy you're hurting me a little" Katey chirped as Chuck softened his vice grip around Katey.

"Oh I'm sorry Katey I just- I'm so happy to see you again" he cried.

"Where've you been Daddy?" she asked.

"I... I've been busy kiddo. I have some good news. We've got a cure for your... condition."

"REALLY? REALLY DADDY?" she yelled in an explosion of happiness and pure surprise.

"Yes kiddo. You'll never have to take zombrex again" Katey jumped in delight and hugged her father again as he returned the favour. Stacey looked on as happy as can be seeing the girl she had been caring for for three months now finally being reunited with her father.

After what must have been at least five minutes of intense hugging Chuck finally released his daughter and said "Listen Katey, we're gonna have to go to the hospital tomorrow so you can get the cure okay."

"Okay Daddy, I'm fine with needles now anyway. Stacey always gave me a lollipop whenever I got a shot."

Stacey blushed as Chuck looked mock disapprovingly at her "Oh really now, have you been brushing your teeth?"

Katey stuttered before saying "Yeah Dad"

"Oh really, then why'd you stutter?" Katey tried to think of an excuse until Chuck said "C'mon let's see those teeth" Katey slowly opened her mouth and showed Chuck her teeth.

"Huh, as yellow as a Simpson" he joked.

"Hey!" Katey shouted "Just because I forgot to brush today doesn't mean I never brush!"

"Oh really? Well the only way to be sure is to take you to the dentist!" he shouted the word dentist as he grabbed Katey.

"NO!" she shouted as she wriggled out of his grasp and ran away. Chuck chased her around the living room and the kitchen, both him and Stacey laughing. Stacey closed off Katey and picked her up as Katey screamed for her to let her down.

"Don't worry Katey Daddy won't take you to the dentist, just promise to brush your teeth every day morning and night okay" Stacey said and Katey nodded. "Okay, go brush your teeth now then okay" Katey nodded and ran upstairs to brush her teeth as Stacey shouted after her "AND DON'T TADDLE ON ME NEXT TIME OKAY"

"OKAY" Katey shouted back as she disappeared upstairs. Stacey and Chuck laughed as they sat back down on the couch.

"She's amazing isn't she" Stacey said.

"Yeah, but don't think that gets _you_ off the hook" he joked.

"Um, uh, well she's brushing her teeth now isn't she?"

"After how long?" he asked.

"Only one day I swear" she answered.

"Uh-huh" he grunted. They sat their actually happy for a few moments until something advert came on the TV.

"Tonight at eleven, join us with an exclusive breaking news story of the Phenotrans scandal and why they have been causing zombie outbreaks for years, join us then."

Their happy, peaceful moment was destroyed by that one, 10 second ad. Both looked down as they were reminded of the hell they were once in. Stacey thought for a moment whether she should continue their conversation about Vegas. She dreaded asking but she needed to know.

"Chuck. You know before when you were talking about... your wife?" she said slowly.

"Yeah" he said, his voice sounding croaky.

"Um, you didn't finish your story" She regretted those words.

"I know I just... I wanted to have some fun with Katey you know."

"I know. Listen you don't have to I was just wondering if you still-"

"No I do I just- it's hard. Um, where was I?" he asked.

"You and Katey were going to a carnival." She

"Oh yeah, the carnival" he said. He then whispered under his breath "That fucking carnival".

* * *

><p>Well I hope you enjoyed that somewhat happy chapter- because it gets fucking angsty in the next chapter. Seriously it gets horrible.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

In the last chapter I said that this one would be angsty- I got them mixed up sorry, this isn't the angsty chapter it may be the next one or the one after that. But this one has a lot of action.

* * *

><p>Chuck threw on his yellow jacket and shouted up the stairs to Katey "C'mon Katey are you ready?"<p>

"Yeah dad, hang on" she responded as she ran down the stairs. She hooked arms with her father as they left their home and entered Chuck's pickup truck. Chuck turned on the radio as they were driving and noticed it wasn't getting any signal.

"Huh, that's weird" he said. He disregarded the matter and kept driving. They ended up trapped in traffic for a good portion of the ride which annoyed the pair to no end. Finally they ended up at the front a long line of cars but to no avail as they were still at a red light.

"Oh for fu-" he realised his four year old daughter was present and stopped himself swearing, though under his breath he whispered "fucking Vegas, should've moved to Connecticut, boring but less traffic. And I'm a handyman, could've gotten work in a garage and Sarah coul- oh shit" Chuck noticed he was rambling to himself and the lights went yellow. Works for me, he thought to himself as he sped through the intersection. As he drove away he looked through his side window to look behind him and saw people exiting their cars, abandoning them in the middle of the road. He was puzzled but he ignored it, he was too focused on giving Katey a fantastic time at the carnival-she was still clearly upset her mother couldn't come. She looked down to the floor, kicking her legs back and forth through empty space-she was so small her legs couldn't reach the car's floor.

Chuck sighed, but then his face brightened as he saw lights in the sky and heard a child like melody loop endlessly, getting louder and louder. "Here we are kiddo" he said with excitement. Katey slowly lifted her face but soon quickly jumped up and glued her face to the window as she saw all the flashing lights and fantastical wonders of the carnival. Chuck wasted no time finding a parking space as he pulled up to a parking lot, nearly hitting a parked car.

As Chuck unbuckled his seat belt he saw Katey was far too excited to focus and was ragging it off with no success. "Hang on Katey" he laughed as he undid he seatbelt for her. As soon as he did however she forced her door open and ran towards the entrance.

"KATEY" Chuck yelled to his daughter.

She looked back and shouted "C'mon dad" as she kept running.

"Katey just wait a sec" Chuck sped after his daughter, just catching up to her before reaching the entrance. Chuck lost his temper and shouted "Katey don't you ever run off again do you hear me" he raised his finger "not ever!"

Katey flinched before saying "Okay dad, I'm sorry. I won't do it again I swear."

Chuck lowered his tone and calmed down as he said "Good. Now C'mon, what do you wanna go on first?"

"OOH, THE BUMPER CARS!" she shouted ecstatically.

"Ha ha, okay kiddo. But I have to be in the car with you, those are the rules."

"Okay fine fine, can we please just go see the bumper cars?" she pleaded.

"Okay Katey. C'mon." And with that he took her by the hand and they entered the carnival.

*2 hours later*

Chuck and Katey were sitting in a Ferris wheel eating cotton candy. They were enjoying the sights of the carnival. The bright lights were all pleasant to look at if a little headache inducing. She looks like she's gotten over her mom not coming, Chuck thought. Katey was smiling and laughing. She was happy.

However when they got to the highest point Chuck could see the intersection the passed through before. Cars were crashed and on fire, some were even upside down. My God, he thought, horrible accident. But then logic struck him; that accident was too big. And it wasn't just there; all the roads surrounding the carnival had crashed and destroyed cars. Chuck was worried, something bad was happening and he knew it. Soon, screaming emanated from down below and what Chuck saw made the word fear sound redundant. The young man, teenager even, who was attending the Ferris wheel was forced up against a gate by a fat, pale faced man covered in blood. The man was tearing his way into the poor boy's throat, biting his jugular and forcing blood to spurt out like a grotesque fountain. Chuck looked around the carnival and saw such atrocities were happening all over the place; people tearing each other apart and biting into each other's flesh. It then dawned upon him-zombies. Zombies just like in the outbreaks in those other cities across the U.S, just like Willamette a few years back. He saw that on the news with Sarah, Katey being just a baby. He, just like every American citizen, bought a decent supply of zombrex when it first became available to the public.

"Oh God, oh God oh fuck" he shouted to himself as he shook with nerves.

"Daddy what's the matter?" Katey asked. Thank God she's too small to see it, he thought.

Chuck turned to his daughter and said "Okay Katey listen. We need to leave right now" Katey opened her mouth to protest but her father said "No Katey listen to me. We need to leave right now. We're gonna get your mother and get out of the city alright."

"But why dad?" she asked, puzzled.

"Because..." he thought for a moment, sweat dripping off his brow. "Be-Because there are some very bad people down there and we need to leave. Okay Katey."

"O... O-Okay Daddy" Chuck could feel Katey shaking.

"Hey hey, don't be scared Katey, just close your eyes and hold on tight alright" the worried father said reassuringly.

"Alright" Katey said, fear evident in her voice.

"Okay baby, hold on tight" Katey nodded her head and grabbed on to Chuck and he carried her as the Ferris wheel was coming closer and closer to the ground. The closest zombie was still too busy devouring that poor teenage boy so Chuck knew he had a limited time to get past it. Then the Ferris stopped and the cart opened. Chuck picked up Katey and held her close as he sped out of the Ferris wheel, narrowly avoiding the zombie as it's head turned up to face them, with flesh still hanging from it's jaw. Chuck held Katey close as he dodged and weaved between the zombies and people running to safety, although most of them eventually met a dead end, or a crowd of zombies. The zombies lurched forwards towards Chuck and Katey as he had to dodge and nudge past them. Finally, after what seemed like forever they found the exit, only to see it blocked off by zombies.

"God dammit" Chuck swore as he saw no way out of the zombie filled carnival. He looked around desperately for a way out. He couldn't find one. There was no way out. No escape. He and Katey were going to die there, in a carnival of all places. But then, salvation... salvation at the cost of the lives of young men. A group of young men and one woman charged towards the zombies that were blocking the exit, they had sticks and signs in their hands as they went in swinging. But they were too few and the zombies were many in number. Every single one of them fell. Chuck was just glad Katey had her eyes closed because what he was witnessing was horrific; Young men being torn apart by ravenous, flesh eating monstrosities. As disgusted as Chuck was, he knew that this was the opening he needed. Their deaths allowed him and Katey to live. Chuck ran full pelt ahead, knocking a couple of zombies over as he shoved by.

"OH GOD JESUS FUCK SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Chuck froze. His head forced him to look back and he saw the woman before being mounted by a zombie. The zombie was fat and obviously much heavier than her. She was fighting it off and tried putting her purse in it's mouth but it kept avoiding it. It was relentless and it knocked the purse out of her hand. It opened it's jaws as it prepared to sink it's teeth into the young girls flesh.

"OH GOD NO! HELP!"

Chuck was conflicted. He was so close to escaping and getting himself and Katey to safety, or he could risk everything to save this girl.

"Fuck" he swore to himself. He turned and kicked the zombie in the face, sending it flying off the girl as blood splattered out of it's mouth. The girl looked up in both confusion and amazement at the fact she was still alive. "COME ON!" he ordered. The girl happily complied as she got up and onto her feet as she followed Chuck to his car. The parking lot was surprisingly scarce of zombies, most of them having entered the carnival for food. Chuck quickly got his keys out of his pocket and opened his car. "Get in" he shouted as he lifted Katey into the truck. The young woman opened the passenger door and got in. Chuck entered in the driver's side and started driving the truck. He backed out of the parking space and drove forward out of the parking lot, running over a few zombies.

The girl had shoulder length dark blond hair, it was styled in curls. She wore a pretty pink dress with dark stripes down it. She had no shoes on; she probably got rid of them so she could run faster, Chuck thought.

"Are you okay, were you bitten?" Chuck asked the young woman.

"No, no, I wasn't b- bitten" she squeaked as she started crying. She couldn't control herself as she began bawling.

"It's okay you don't need to cry" Katey said as she hugged the other girl. The girl hugged her back as she needed someone to hold onto.

Chuck pondered what to say to break the tension before he asked "What's your name?"

She kept hugging Katey as she said though her sobs "Katie... Katie Williams."

"Hey that's my name too!" Katey yelled. The woman laughed at that.

"Really" she sniffed "that's so funny" she began crying again and so the younger Katey hugged her to calm her down. She stroked Katey's hair and said "You're such a nice little girl. You must be really proud sir."

"Yeah, I am" Chuck said as he drove though the crowded streets, trying to avoid people as he had no idea whether he would be running over people or zombies. He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, gave it to the older Katie and said "Listen I know you've been through a lot but can you please call my wife for me?"

"Uh, yeah okay" she sobbed as she found Sarah's number on Chuck's phone. "It's ringing" she said. They all waited for a response. It seemed to ring forever until finally it was answered. "Hello? Hello?" the older Katie said through the phone.

"Put it on speakerphone" Chuck said. She complied and put it on speakerphone. All that was heard was screaming and chaos. "Sarah? SARAH? Are you there?" Chuck shouted. Still, just shouting and screaming, no singular voice answering Chuck, until...

"Chuck?" a voice sobbed through the phone.

"SARAH!" Chuck yelled in response. "Are- Are you alright, have you been hurt?" he shouted quickly.

"Oh my God Chuck help me please" she whimpered. She didn't shout like Katie when she was nearly killed, Sarah wept her words. Chuck wanted to say something but found himself speechless. "Chuck, are you there? Please... please say something."

"Sarah" he whispered.

"Chuck" she whispered also. "Chuck, help me. I'm really hurt. The hospital, it was full and... there's zombies and..." she started crying. Chuck couldn't help it but tears started streaming down his face.

"Listen Sarah" he cried "I'm gonna come get you alright. I don't care how many zombies there are- I'm gonna come get you. Me, you and Katey are gonna get out of the city alright."

"But Chuck-"

"I'm getting you, okay?"

* * *

><p>"That sounds terrifying Chuck" Stacey said.<p>

"Yeah, it was. I guess I was kind of used to zombies by the time Fortune's end happened" Chuck said with cynical laughter. Dark humour, an odd strong point for him.

Stacey chuckled and said "Well you certainly were able to handle yourself... and me and Katey and about 50 other survivors" Chuck laughed at that, genuine laughter this time.

"I brushed my teeeeeeeeth. Can I have some candy now?" Katey shouted down the stairs.

"Sorry kiddo is doesn't work that way" Chuck laughed.

"It did with Stacey" Katey replied. Chuck looked, once again, disapprovingly at Stacey.

"...Katey" Stacey said nervously "what did I say before about taddling?"

Chuck shook his head and smirked at Stacey.

"I could just tell that if you had a kid, you would be the soft one" Chuck joked. Stacey blushed at that comment. This time she went an even deeper, bright red than she had previously, making it obvious to Chuck that something was up. He moved closer, put his hands on her shoulders and said "Stace I'm kidding. You'd make a great Mom."

"Uh thanks Chuck" she blushed even harder. He called me Stace, she thought, oh for the love of God he's pouring his heart out here about his life being destroyed and I'm blushing like a high-schooler, dammit I'm not fourteen.

"You okay Stace?" Chuck asked.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine- Oh dammit I forgot about dinner" Stacey said as she ran towards the kitchen. But Chuck grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Can't we just order take out?" he said.

"Ooh yeah can we have take out, please Stacey" Katey pleaded as she ran down the stairs.

"Uh yeah I guess" Stacey said.

"Great. I'll call a pizza place, umm, where's the closest pizza place?" Chuck asked.

"Ha ha ha, I'll call it okay" Stacey laughed. Chuck sniggered as he sat down to watch TV with Katey.

"Dad, why'd you make me brush my teeth _before_ dinner?" Katey asked.

"Because, looking at your teeth before, they probably would have fallen out after dinner" Her father answered. Katey pouted and lightly hit Chuck on the leg as he laughed.

"Okay, so 15 minutes. Yeah that's fine. Thank you, bye" Stacey said as she put the phone down. "15 minutes on the pizza everybody."

"Okay" Father and daughter said. Stacey sat down to watch TV with the pair. They put on a kids channel on for Katey.

Katey was leaning forward in her seat and so Chuck mouthed the words "I'll finish telling you later" to Stacey. She smiled and they all cuddled up and watched Katey's show together.


	5. Chapter 5

I should just say now some point in this story there's gonna be sexual content. Not sure if that's a spoiler, just thought I'd say.

* * *

><p>"Good night Daddy" Katey said as Chuck tucked her in.<p>

"G'night Katey" Chuck replied as he stroked her hair. Chuck kissed her forehead and left the room, leaving the door open a crack.

"Dad, y'know you _can_ close the door right, I'm not scared" Katey said.

Chuck laughed and said "Okay sweetie, you've really grown up these past couple of months."

Katey smiled and said "I'm a big girl now daddy."

"Yeah, you sure are. Love you Katey" he replied.

"Love you too dad" Katey said as she lay down in her bed and closed her eyes.

Chuck unwillingly closed the door and walked down the stairs. Stacey was sitting on the couch looking up at Chuck. "How long has she been sleeping with her door closed?" he asked the redhead.

"What? This is the first time."

"Huh, really. I wonder why, she usually likes it open"

Chuck pondered for a minute before Stacey said "She probably feels safe knowing your back" Chuck smiled at that and looked coy while Stacey smiled and blushed. There was silence-not an awkward silence but rather a comfortable, warming silence. Stacey had a strange feeling in her gut, a feeling like she could tell Chuck everything, confess her feelings, and tell him she loved him. She wanted to kiss him... and maybe just now, in this beautiful silence, he would return her feelings. However the comfortable silence was soon destroyed by a voice on the TV.

"And now our top story. Phenotrans, once known to be heroes of medicine, have now in fact been revealed as mass murderers as they're miracle drug zombrex was not the only way to combat the threat of turning for those who have been bitten, in fact, they have been withholding a cure this entire time. We now go to Quentin Beck for his report on this groundbreaking news story."

Chuck's face quickly turned from happy to grim as he scorned at the TV, looking as if he was going to violently plant his foot into the screen.

Stacey saw the situation and wanted to change the subject. "Do you want me to change the channel, I just through the news on I forgot about the story-"

"It's alright Stacey, I wanna see this" Chuck said very seriously. He sat down on the couch opposite the TV and watched the screen intently. Stacey nervously sat down next to him.

"For the past 5 years Phenotrans have been saving our country's best time and time again with zombrex. Well, it turns out that zombrex has in fact been redundant this entire time as there Phenotrans had already developed a cure years ago." The TV showed images of zombies overrunning towns and cities, along with clips of scientists working on zombrex. "Frank West, survivor the very first outbreak in the United States, was able to bring down the company with both blueprints of Fortune City and the cure itself. We have an exclusive interview with Frank right here in the studio, Frank West thanks for joining us." The TV then went back to the studio showing a male newsreader and Frank sitting at the news desk.

"You're welcome Quentin" he said in a cocky tone.

"Now Frank, just how were you able to bring down the company?" asked the news reader.

"Well you see Quentin" Frank adjusted himself and sat up straight "Just before the firebombing of Fortune's End I got a tip from a source that there was a Phenotrans facility just west of Fortune City. I went there and found that there were zombies in pens-"

Frank was interrupted by the news reader "Not unusual considering the city was the host of Terror is Reality."

"Yes but this was a Phenotrans facility and they used the zombies to extract Queens."

The news reader once again interjected "But Phenotrans said that they stopped using Queens years ago."

Frank answered him "All lies Quentin, not only were they still using Queens, but they were kidnapping homeless people, criminals and even people of the street who were then reported as missing persons. I have the proof right here" Frank then handed Quentin some photographs which he showed to the camera showing a list of people, before and after zombification.

"My God this is horrible" Quentin responded.

"It doesn't end there Quentin," the screen behind them then showed blueprints of Fortune City, "here you can see blueprints of Fortune City. They had released Queens into the city to sting people so they could turn them into zombies, as well as planting explosives around the arena hosting TIR, so no one would notice the Queens. I mean, it's impossible to tell the difference between normal wasps and Queens anyway."

"So people were being stung and not even realising that they were going to turn?"

"That's right Quentin."

Stacey sat there in silence and held her hand up to her mouth in shock. "That's terrible" she said with a croaky voice.

"It gets worse, listen" Chuck said, not taking his glare away from the TV screen for a second. Even though he knew exactly what they were going to say, he still wanted to see it.

"This is chilling news, and according to your evidence here this isn't the first outbreak they were responsible for correct?" The news reader asked.

"No, it's not, they were responsible for every outbreak in the past 5 years, excluding Santa Cabeza and Willamette which the US government was responsible for and I myself was caught up in."

The news reader looked worried as he quickly tried to change the subject "Um, yes, but more about this source of yours, were they an employee of the company, a whistle blower perhaps?"

Frank looked down as if in shame and Stacey noticed Chuck doing the same. Frank hesitated before saying "Well a reporter is never meant to reveal their source but... I think I can make an exception. My source was Isabella Keyes." The reporter went dead silent as both he and Stacey looked shocked.

"Isabella Keyes..." Stacey said "You got to meet Isabella Keyes?" Stacey looked a little excited, like she wanted Chuck to tell the story. However when she looked over to him he looked like he was both ashamed and angry, like he was going to break something.

"Isabella Keyes? The terrorist who started all this?" Quentin asked.

"She didn't start it her brother did all right!" Frank shouted "She helped people! She started zombrex okay, she saved me and a lot of people... before Phenotrans got a hold of her and... made her a slave to the company."

"What do you mean a 'slave to the company'" the arrogant news reader asked.

Frank sighed and said "They made her work for them and said they were gonna have her arrested, even though it was her damn brother who started the Willamette outbreak. And the only reason I'm telling you all this is because just before me and her were able to escape to the press and the authorities she was killed okay." Frank once again looked down in shame. Stacey gasped and covered her mouth in shock. She saw Chuck was looking straight at the ground, almost in tears.

"She was killed, how? Was there a zombie there or-"

Frank cut off the reporter and shouted "No she was shot in the head by the CEO. You can check the security cameras from the building if you want proof."

The news reader looked like he was unsure what to do before finally saying "Chilling, chilling news. We go now to..." Both Stacey and Chuck drifted off and stopped listening to the TV at that point.

"Turn it off. Please" Chuck demanded and Stacey quickly complied.

"Chuck I'm so sorry. I can't believe they killed her" she said in disbelief.

"They were trying to kill us, and they had some zombies in the pens and when we nearly got out they shot her in the head. We couldn't carry her body so we just left her there while zombies ate her body."

Tears rolled down Stacey's face as she sniffed and said "I'm sorry Chuck. You couldn't have saved her-"

"YES I FUCKING COULD'VE!" He yelled as he lost his temper "WE COULD HAVE BEEN MORE CAREFUL BUT INSTEAD WE WERE SLOPPY AND SHE GOT KILLED!"

Silence.

After a moment Chuck saw what he was doing. He was standing over Stacey like he was going to hit her. She was trembling in fear as if a zombie was upon her. Chuck lowered himself and sat back down.

"I'm sorry Stacey. That was wrong; I didn't mean to scare you. I just... I've let too many people die"

Stacey remained silent but tried to keep her composure. What she _really_ wanted to do was start crying as Chuck had terrified her. Instead, she said to him "You didn't finish telling me about your wife."

Chuck looked agitated as he said "Look I know I said I would but right now I-"

She interrupted him and said "No Chuck, you **need** to tell me how that ended. Not because I'm nosy or that I just want to know how it ended, you need to tell me it just to get it off your chest. It doesn't even have to be me but you still need to get it off your chest alright." Chuck looked worried, he no longer looked angry, just upset. Stacey grabbed his hands and said "I'm here for you alright."

Chuck calmed down and said "Alright, you're right. I'll finish telling you."

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><p>Don'cha just love cliff hangers. Next chapter we'll finally get back to the flashback about his wife I swear. Nearly done now, just 1 or 2 chapters, and sorry for the wait.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6 Part 1

I am so, so, so, so, so fucking sorry. I had writers block for a month and when I finally thought of something my computer died, this isn't even my computer I'm still trying to save up money to get mine fixed so I borrowed this one. And my plans for this chapter where on that computer... fuck. Anyway here's chapter 6. This was slightly rushed however 'cos I feel bad about the long wait. Sorry.

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><p>Chuck drove through the chaotic streets of Las Vegas, running over a few zombies as he did. He couldn't focus, he knew that his wife was in danger and he had to save her.<p>

"Umm, sir" the older Katie said. "What are me and your daughter going to do once we get to the hospital?" Chuck was silent. "I'm sorry sir, what should we do?"

Chuck remained silent. She was about to ask again when he threw his head forward and yelled "Fuck!" The two girls jumped as he swore. The one thing he didn't consider. Possibly the most important factor in his plan-where was he going to put the girls? There was no safe place _to _put them really. He couldn't leave them in the car, he couldn't take them with him into the hospital, he had no idea what to do.

"Daddy..." Katey said quietly, with fear obvious in her voice.

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><p>"I had no idea what to do. I was scared, I didn't want to put them in danger- I mean more danger than they were in already" said Chuck.<p>

"So what did you do?" asked Stacey.

"I figured at the time the best thing to do was to at least have them in my line of sight... so I brought them with me. And God dammit I wish to hell I didn't".

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><p>Chuck parked the car near the entrance, behind some ambulances, hoping the zombies wouldn't see them.<p>

"C'mon, c'mon" Chuck whispered as he left the car. Katey and Katie followed suit. Chuck crouched down and said to his daughter "Okay Katey, I don't want you to leave Daddy's sight. I'm gonna carry you, but if for any reason I have to put you down I want you to stay close," Chuck adjusted her coat and continued "But if something happens to Daddy I want you and Katie to run okay?"

"But Daddy-" Katey tried to plead but Chuck interrupted her.

"No buts Katey, she'll take care of you alright" Chuck looked up to the older Katie as if to ask 'Please, if I die just get her out of here'.

The young woman hesitated before saying "Of course, listen to your Dad Katey."

"O-okay" the scared four year old said, with tears in her eyes. Chuck picked her up and kissed her on the forehead.

"Stay close" he said to the older Katie.

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><p>I like making chapters longer, seriously this chapter is short and shit, and I don't like ending it here but I'm only adding this short bit (which is pretty much the opening) because of writers block (I swear it won't be another massive wait), I've got a big workload and I have very limited time on this laptop. I feel bad for teasing you all like this. Sorry if this isn't up to standard.<p> 


	7. Chapter 6 Part 2

The trio waited in the elevator. The child, her head pressed against Chuck's shoulder, the father, holding her tightly, and the woman, who couldn't keep her eyes away from the blood stains on the ceiling. How did they get there, she thought to herself. They stood there impatiently, secretly terrified, they were stuck in a building infested by the living dead, and there by choice. The older Katie was angered by this, why couldn't I have just stayed in the car, I owe this man but I don't know him, she thought. She instantly regretted feeling so angry, remembering her friends she was just glad to be alive.

Suddenly a strange banging sound came from above them. The three survivors looked up in confusion as it seemed something was knocking against the roof of the lift. Chuck was about to investigate when a tile fell from the top and a hand forced its way in, grey and sickly, with bits of dead flesh hanging off and missing fingers. The head of a carnivorous zombie appeared out of the hole and growled at its prey. Katie screamed, Katey screamed, Chuck swore, they backed against the walls of the small confines of the elevator as the creature fell in to the box. Chuck put Katey down as the zombie reared its head back up and snared at Chuck. They launched at each other, the zombie gnashing its teeth hoping for that lethal bite while chuck grabbed its shoulders and tried to keep it at arm's length. Katie panicked and started hitting buttons randomly. The little girl cowered against a corner of the elevator while her father tried to subdue the monster. It tried to claw at his face, scratching his cheek; Chuck, in response, punched it on the face. It tried to regain its composure as Chuck repeatedly pounded its face with his fist. He stopped for a moment and chuckled as he realised, he had broken its front teeth, before continuing his assault. Finally the doors opened and Katie spilled out of the doors-she saw they had just entered another layer of this nightmare: patients tearing apart doctors, doctors devouring nurses, nurses chasing patients, it was hell. Chuck got up and the zombie tried to grab him again, he dominantly dropped his knee onto its face before grabbing his daughter and running out of the doors. They looked around in terror as Chuck tried to think were his wife might be.

"Sir, what do we do? Where do we go!" Katie said, her voice trembling in fear.

Chuck hesitated before finally saying "the chemist, my wife had a friend who was a chemist, c'mon follow me."

She did what he said, scared and wanting direction, although Chuck was just grasping at straws, the place had gone crazy, just like at the fairground. Why had I brought them here, he thought, I'm gonna get them killed, and Sarah might even be dead. Despite these doubts in his mind he led the small group through the hellish hallways, bobbing and weaving between the living dead. It was disgusting; the walls weren't just stained with blood, but actual gore. Katie thought she might break down, but every time she thought of falling to the floor and crying, another zombie clambered out of a room, or broke through a window.

Chuck kicked a door in leading to some stairs, thanking God that the stairwell was empty. Not for long however as a horde was swiftly approaching behind them. Katie rushed in behind them and he forced the door shut. He put his daughter Katey down for a minute before he picked up a fire extinguisher and used the tube to forcefully lock the door.

"Chuck that's not going to do shit!" Katie shouted, she had finally had enough.

"It'll hold them off for now, let's go." He picked up Katey and sped up the stairs, the young woman grunted in frustration before following him up the stairs. They ascended three flights of stairs before Chuck stopped. "I think we're here."

"You think!" Katie said angrily.

"I can't be too sure, just please calm down," Chuck slowly inched open the door and looked around.

"I can't calm down" she whispered. She was quiet but still clearly angry. "You take me along to find your wife, who's trapped in a hospital full of zombies, just because you want her to be alive. Why couldn't you have just left us in the car Chuck? For fuck sake she's a kid!"

Chuck's blood boiled at her statement, he was about to yell at her when he saw the chemist... he was banging on his own door. Growling and trying to force his way in. "Look, I'm sorry alright, but I can see the chemists from here, and I can only see one of them. We go in, take a different elevator down and make a run for my truck okay," she wanted to argue but her energy was spent. They nodded in agreement to each other and slowly made their way out of the door. Sneaking towards the chemists, Chuck gave his daughter over to the young woman and picked up an IV stand; he looked around for any other dangers before bashing the IV stand over the undead chemist's head. He repeatedly struck the chemist until the bottom of the stand impaled his head. The young woman gagged as she saw this, the little girl kept her eyes shut tight, just like her father had told her earlier.

"You okay?" Chuck asked.

"I'm... fine."

Suddenly Chuck's phone went off, the little chime from a text message. He looked down to his pocket in shock before another freak burst out of the chemist's door. Chuck tried to fight it off, he couldn't see as she had blindsided him. He elbowed her repeatedly before she finally relented.

And then he saw her.

The woman he married.

The woman he had a child with.

The woman he had planned to spend the rest of his life with, looking up at him with the hunger of a lion before it kills a gazelle.

"S...Sarah?" Chuck was in shock. His wife rose to her feet and lunged at him again. On instinct he pushed her off before pinning her to a wall. "Sarah no..." his body stayed strong on that survival instinct but his words became soft and vacant of emotion.

Katey looked up from the other woman's shoulder "Mommy..."

Silence.

"MOMMY!" Katey screamed. She jumped down from the older woman's arms and ran to her mother's side. "Mommy! MOMMY!" The only words she could manage were of her mother's. Chuck help her in place with his strength but he was in another place. Katey was in another place. The young woman Katie however, was still in that hospital, and though she was shocked that this innocent little girl was witnessing firsthand what it's like to see a loved one become a zombie, the abominations enjoying their meal just one room over were already too interested in the girl in the pink dress they could see through a gap in the curtain. They lunged at her from behind. She wasn't expecting it and she was pinned face down against the ground. Chuck turned to see her forced to the floor.

"Katie!" he yelled. In that one second, his wife broke free and fell to the floor.

"Mommy" Katey yelled as she walked towards her mother.

"NO!" Chuck screamed as Sarah sank her teeth into Katey's arm. His daughter screamed in pain as her mother had turned against her in the worst possible way. Chuck forced his wife off of his daughter with his hands but the damage was done. Katey held her arm in pain and cried, attracting even more of the demonic creatures. Chuck looked over to the older Katie, who had long stopped screaming. Her eyes look up at him, fixed in place as the zombies ate her neck. She was gone, her pink dress now crimson and her blond hair now streaked in a vile red. Chuck panicked, he froze. Everything had gone to hell in a manner of seconds. As his wife stood up one last time to throw herself at him he noticed a small poster next to her on the wall. "ZOMBREX" it read, "take one every 12 hours". He suddenly had an objective; he grabbed his daughter and took her into the chemist. Barely barricading the door he searched frantically before picking up some medical dressing and rubbing alcohol, he first cleaned the wound before wrapping her wrist up to the best of his ability-she cried the whole time. No words, just tears. He broke into a cabinet to find a few boxes of zombrex. Tearing one open he injected his daughter. She cried even more. "Don't worry Katey everything's gonna be... we're gonna get out of here okay". She wasn't reassured, she never stopped crying. A million thoughts ran through his head: could he take them all on? Could he force through a few and make it to an elevator? Maybe the window? That would make more sense, he had been there a million times before, he knew there was a wide ledge he could make it down to, maybe he and Katey could escape to another floor or just try to scale down the building. That was when they broke through. Their growls were enough to haunt the nightmares of even the most toughened war veteran, but Chuck... Chuck was a father, needing to protect his cub. He hid Katey behind a counter before picking up a scalpel dropped from a medical tray... and he let his rage loose.

* * *

><p>"I just kept stabbing them. Even my wife. More and more kept coming and I just kept picking random things up and killing them."<p>

Stacey tried to hide her tears. Fortune City wasn't even this grim, or maybe it was and she was just safe away in that little security hole. "I'm so sorry Chuck, I've never... I mean I've heard stories but no one's ever..." She had no words to comfort him. "Chuck I'm so sorry."

He was silent now. She knew his story wasn't finished but she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear anymore. He sat there still, stoic motionless. She shook with emotion.

"You don't have to continue-"

"Yes I do... we're so close to the end. I need to finish." He was adamant. She respected that. Tearfully she nodded and let him continue.

* * *

><p>WELL FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK THAT WAS A LONG BREAK. You know I finally understand why writers on this site sometimes take a whole fucking year just to update a chapter, and that is because writers block is a horrific plague. Seriously I had nothing, literally no idea and it pisses me off that its so bloody simple and predictable anyway, I just hope I did a good writing job. I am gonna finish this, we're close I'd say, a couple more chapters. I should probably add more to this and do some more editing, but I just finished and I fell bad y'all had to wait for so long so please enjoy. Oh and also Chuck's wife is named Pam apparently, but I already ran this far with Sarah, so fuck it lol. Another thing, I thought DR3 would be about Chuck and Frank, I was totally wrong. New character, new city, awesome, but now I look the fool. Oh and naming the other girl Katie was stupid, it was a dumb joke and it made it too complicated when writing and reading, so sorry. Thanks for waiting folks.<p> 


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